Crystalline AlPO-5, SAPO-5, and
metal substituted AlPO-5 (MeAlPOs) were prepared by the hydrothermal method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, N
2 adsorption-desorption, scanning electron microscopy, particle size distribution, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, NH
3 temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), H
2 temperature-programmed reduction, and thermogravimetric-
differential thermogravimetric (TG-DTG) analysis. All the samples crystallized with the AFI structure. TPD profiles showed that stronger Brønsted acid sites appeared and the number of Lewis acid sites increased when Si or a metal was introduced into the framework of AlPO-5. ICP, FT-IR spectra, and TG-DTG curves confirmed that Si or the metals were incorporated into the framework of the AlPO-5. The catalytic properties of the samples in cyclohexane nitrosation to ε-caprolactam were studied. SAPO-5 with a larger BET
surface area, more Lewis acid sites, and stronger
Brønsted acid sites gave better activity and selectivity
than AlPO-5. Among the MeAlPOs, CrAPO-5 with the larger BET surface area, more Lewis acid sites, and stronger Brønsted acid sites gave the better result with a conversion of 8.16% and ε-caprolactam selectivity of 68.17%.